With only one round to go until the Eastern Canadian Karting Championship (ECKC) crowns its 2012 champions, the series is getting set to award some amazing prizes. By far the biggest buzz surrounds the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals (RMCGF) invitations, with 2012 marking the first year four Team Canada berths will be awarded at the ECKC finale. All nine classes will see championship trophies awarded to the first, second and third place in the final points, and a new spin for 2012 will see a Manufacturers Championship awarded as well. Briggs & Stratton champions will earn 2013 registration, and series partners Position 1 Fitness, Skip Barber Racing School and The Decal Zone will also award their championship prizes.
RMCGF invites are on the line in Rotax Max DD2, Rotax Max Senior, Rotax Max DD2 Masters and Rotax Max Junior, and all four championships are undecided heading into the finale round. The coveted invites earn the champions the chance to represent Canada at the “Olympics of Karting,” set for November 26-December 1, at the Kartódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimao, Portugal. Team Canada has a storied history at the event, with series competitors set to put everything on the line to add their names to the history books in 2012. In arguably the most competitive DD2 field around, the championship will come down to three of karting’s greats. Two-time Rotax DD2 World Champion Pier-Luc Ouellette currently leads the standings, with eight-time Team Canada member Christophe Boisclair second. Another two-time Rotax World Champion, Ben Cooper, is third, however when points are adjusted for the allowed one race drop, Cooper jumps to the lead by 45 points! The same incredible competition is echoed in the remaining battles for the RMCGF invites: Marco DiLeo leading Steven Szigeti in Rotax Senior, Parker Thompson leading Zachary Claman-DeMelo in Rotax Junior, and a three way fight established between Stuart Clark, Marc-Andre Bourgeois and Luc Sauriol for the first ever ECKC RMCGF invite in the DD2 Masters category. The streets of Trois-Rivieres will decide the champions, in what is sure to be an epic event.
In preparation for the RMCGF, the four ECKC champions will also receive a three-month personalized training program, specifically tailored to each driver’s needs by Position 1 Fitness. With the elite sport of karting testing the physical demands of its competitors, P1 Fitness will ensure the ECKC representatives are in top shape as they take on the world in Portugal later this year.
While the Rotax classes surely get their share of the attention, the Briggs & Stratton drivers are up for some incredible prizes of their own. Not only will Briggs & Stratton will provide a $100.00 CDN payment at the end of the series to each Briggs & Stratton driver who has competed in a minimum of four races in the 2012 ECKC series, but also the class champions in Junior, Senior and Masters will each receive 2013 ECKC event registration plus one set of tires per round! With the Briggs & Stratton platform gaining ground at each outing in 2012, the prizes to be awarded will further the growth in the years to come.
Looking to further the growth of one lucky and deserving ECKC participant, the Skip Barber Racing School, the Official Racing School of the IZOD IndyCar Series, will award a 15-year-old competitor, chosen by the ECKC board, a seat in their 16th annual Skip Barber Racing School Karting Scholarship Shootout. Set for November 13-16 at the famed Sebring International Raceway in Sebring, Florida, the ultimate Shootout winner is awarded a fully funded ride in the 2013 Skip Barber Racing School series, which represents the first step in the Mazda Road to Indy ladder program, and four other drivers at the Shootout will receive scholarship funds to compete in 2013 Skip Barber race series events. The awardee will receive guidance and evaluation by a panel of motorsports experts both on and off the track.
And if all that wasn’t enough, The Decal Zone, a leading supplier of decal kits, name decals, number panels, visor strips and much more, will also be awarding to each ECKC series champion a $250 gift certificate.
This incredible array of championship prizes will be presented at the 2012 series finale, on the streets of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec during the famed Le Monaco de Trois-Rivieres July 26-29. Hosted by PSL Karting, the Monaco event is one of the most glamorous events in all of Canada, drawing upwards of 25,000 spectators to the site of the GP3R at Exposition Park. Two days of practice will lead up to the fifth round of the Coupe du Quebec championship on Saturday, July 28 followed by the Eastern Canadian Karting Championship finale Sunday, July 29.
The Eastern Canadian Karting Championship is an ASN-sanctioned, four round, six race series with venues in both Ontario and Quebec. Now in its third year, the ECKC will start off the 2012 season at Goodwood Kartways in Stouffville, Ontario May 26-27 for the first double-header weekend. Circuit ICAR will host the third race in Mirabel, Quebec June 17 followed by the second double-race weekend at Mosport International Karting in Bowmanville, Ontario June 30-July 1. The series will conclude at the Monaco Grand Prix of Trois-Rivieres July 29, the prestigious street race set at the site of the GP3R at Exposition Park. The Eastern Canadian Karting Championship is a Rotax Max Challenge series and will award Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals tickets to the Rotax Senior, Rotax Junior, Rotax DD2 and Rotax DD2 Masters class champions. In 2012, the Briggs & Stratton classes will contest the series six-race series, making up a national four-stroke championship. For more information on the Eastern Canadian Karting Championship, please visit www.eckc.ca.
